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Duke after 1 game

Tyblue22

Tyblue22

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Dec 23, 2003
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My opinion. Yes, they were missing Reddish and Jones so take that into consideration. I knew they were going to be freshman heavy, but man, Are they freshman heavy. I see 2 stars in Barrett and Williamson, but I honestly am shocked at how little they have outside those 2. If they get into foul trouble, fatigue, or injury Duke goes from top 3 team to top 25 team real quick. Those 2 are top 5 picks in the draft and are amazing players. I think Reddish fits that mold too, but wow are they bad after those guys. I dont see anything else after those guys. No depth, I mean, no depth after 4 players total. What happens late in the second half trying to play 5 guys? Or foul trouble.

Williamson is an athletic freak. Wow can he jump. But, I saw alot of high school in him. Standing around after a dunk smiling at the crowd, etc. And late in the half, and game he was gassed man. Bent over, hands on knees, gasping. Why dont they put him on a diet, get him to 250. If he is jumoing that far at 285, he would leave the earth at 250....lol
(wow can he jump)
 
Smashcat said:
If they couldn’t win it all last year with the #1 center and #1 PF plus senior shooter/scorer Allen, they aren’t going to win it this year.
Click to expand...

They should’ve taken the center OR the pf. Two bigs on the floor together is death.
 
I’m telling you guys, Zion and Barrett are going to have issues with the rest of the team. They are not going to defer, Bolden is the same, and unless Jones and Reddish are of incredible caliber (not just really good),Duke isn’t winning this title. They are too thin and regardless of how good Zion is, He’s their best interior player and he’s 6’6 and wants to play on the perimeter. He was told he would be doing that also, so just watch. Without Zion accepting an interior role Duke is done before it starts. You can’t win a title with Bolden and some dude taking up half the game under the goal.

Imagine Kentucky making the title
Game in 2013 with Randle spending 18 minutes a game around the perimeter?

This is why K went after Montgomery so hard. It’s why he went after Reid so hard. The writing is on the wall.

Zion was sent by Nike to Duke with assurances that Zion would be allowed to showcase. I’m loving this, Duke has no idea what is happening. You guys should get it. When Cal can’t convince freshman to conform, it’s never good. K is out of his element.
 
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I think RJ and Zion are studs. I think Reddish is nowhere near their level despite what his ranking suggest, and I think Jones is very overrated. Bolden still sucks, and they have no bench. I'm not ready to say "Duke will be very good". I feel like they will have chemistry issues, this is a very unusual Coach K Roster, and they didn't exactly tear it up vs a much worse opponent tonight than the ones we played in the Bahamas.
 
Anyone with any semblance of basketball IQ can look at their roster and see poor balance and a glaring lack of depth. Of course, most casuals (the entire Duke fan base) just looks at the high school rankings and immediately crowns them. It would just be nice if anyone nationally would point out just how much raw talent K has wasted. They have no problem doing so with Cal.
 
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I won’t say they won’t defer until I see it just like everyone on here said the same thing when all non duke fans said the UK freshmen wouldn’t defer or play together, I know he hope for some is they will be selfish just like non UK fans hope that for UK but I’m sticking to reality here and in reality this team is not deep what so ever although RJ and Zion are elite talents.

I’ll have to see what Reddish and Trae look like before saying what type of team they have just like I would with any other hyped team. It’s going to be interesting to see if depth will be an issue since I said that would be a major issue as well as defense in 2015 and I think that Duke team that won it only had one player off the bench. In college basketball you just never know but I’ll stick with my original assessment of Duke struggling early on due to relying freshmen and no Depth. Just like the young UK teams if the past we won’t know how bad or good Duke is or can be until around Feb
 
Ok, this is literally nitpicking, but looking at the Zion highlights, I saw 2 plays where Zion was on the right side of the lane, and scooped in the layup with his left hand rather than use his right, which would be what most would do. Is he that dependent on his left hand? Could that be something to exploit?
 
They may have three Elite layers but that’s it! They aren’t cutting any nets down. They won’t win the ACC, ACC tournament or the National Championship! None of their Elite players are great shooters!
 
morgousky said:
I’m telling you guys, Zion and Barrett are going to have issues with the rest of the team. They are not going to defer, Bolden is the same, and unless Jones and Reddish are of incredible caliber (not just really good),Duke isn’t winning this title. They are too thin and regardless of how good Zion is, He’s their best interior player and he’s 6’6 and wants to play on the perimeter. He was told he would be doing that also, so just watch. Without Zion accepting an interior role Duke is done before it starts. You can’t win a title with Bolden and some dude taking up half the game under the goal.


This is why K went after Montgomery so hard. It’s why he went after Reid so hard. The writing is on the wall.

Zion was sent by Nike to Duke with assurances that Zion would be allowed to showcase. I’m loving this, Duke has no idea what is happening. You guys should get it. When Cal can’t convince freshman to conform, it’s never good. K is out of his element.
Click to expand...
I could be wrong but I don't believe Duke went after Reid at all, not sure where you read that.

You may have Zion wrong. I think he's a happy-go-lucky kid who will cause zero chemistry problems. Special kid, special talent.

The potential for chemistry problems is real IMO, but if it happens my guess is it's going to be with Cam and Barrett.

Duke may have 3 picks in the top 10 of next year's draft. That amount of talent helps offset somewhat the lack of depth. Might combust, could be pretty special.

UK looks to have a really high floor this year, with so much quality depth and pieces that seem to fit well together. Props to Cal for putting this team together.
 
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Yeah, it seems the issue Duke is going to have here is about the make-up of the team. They clearly have great talent here but do they have a complete team? Heck, we've seen it here at UK several times. Cal has amassed some amazing talents but many times it was an incomplete team. Last season is a good example. We lacked any real shooters on that team. We had athletes galore but when teams lock you down defensively and your studs can't get out and run people over, somebody has to make shots to open lanes. Somebody has to be able to score down low with back to the basket. It appears to me Duke has that same issue. If Zion is allowed to be a perimeter player they're in trouble. He will likely be allowed to run people over in the nonconference mostly but not in the ACC and not in the Dance. And who will consistently make shots on this team? I've seen this show before, I think.

But this is good news for UK. I think we may have the most balanced team since that 2011-12 title season. Our scoring will come from multiple positions. We have low post, we have high post, we have mid-range, we have long-range, we have open floor scorers, we have half court scorers, we have multiple zone busters. I don't know how you defend this group, and that's a good thing.
 
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BlueDevilWildcat said:
I could be wrong but I don't believe Duke went after Reid at all, not sure where you read that.

You may have Zion wrong. I think he's a happy-go-lucky kid who will cause zero chemistry problems. Special kid, special talent.

The potential for chemistry problems is real IMO, but if it happens my guess is it's going to be with Cam and Barrett.

Duke may have 3 picks in the top 10 of next year's draft. That amount of talent helps offset somewhat the lack of depth. Might combust, could be pretty special.

UK looks to have a really high floor this year, with so much quality depth and pieces that seem to fit well together. Props to Cal for putting this team together.
Click to expand...

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.du...-at-duke-after-all-stanford-nba-grad-transfer

This article suggests he originally chose Stanford over Duke, so it’s natural to think Duke was at least on his radar and vice versa. Just looking through message board titles it’s clear many Duke fans thought they’d have a shot as well. I’m guessing he probably would have gone to Duke, but with the way the roster is constructed, didn’t envision the ball being in his hands much. Which is probably true.
 
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ConRay9 said:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.du...-at-duke-after-all-stanford-nba-grad-transfer

This article suggests he originally chose Stanford over Duke, so it’s natural to think Duke was at least on his radar and vice versa. Just looking through message board titles it’s clear many Duke fans thought they’d have a shot as well. I’m guessing he probably would have gone to Duke, but with the way the roster is constructed, didn’t envision the ball being in his hands much. Which is probably true.
Click to expand...
I can't think of any reason why any more than 1 big man would sign with Duke at a time. They are 4 out, 1 in. Last year was an exception, not the rule, and K couldn't get them there despite having arguably the top 2 big men in the nation.
 
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Jakarii said:
I won’t say they won’t defer until I see it just like everyone on here said the same thing when all non duke fans said the UK freshmen wouldn’t defer or play together, I know he hope for some is they will be selfish just like non UK fans hope that for UK but I’m sticking to reality here and in reality this team is not deep what so ever although RJ and Zion are elite talents.

I’ll have to see what Reddish and Trae look like before saying what type of team they have just like I would with any other hyped team. It’s going to be interesting to see if depth will be an issue since I said that would be a major issue as well as defense in 2015 and I think that Duke team that won it only had one player off the bench. In college basketball you just never know but I’ll stick with my original assessment of Duke struggling early on due to relying freshmen and no Depth. Just like the young UK teams if the past we won’t know how bad or good Duke is or can be until around Feb
Click to expand...
tenor.gif
 
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FrankUnderwood said:
You said it though... they’re playing without 2 other VERY good players (freshman nonetheless)


I don’t think they’re going to be world beaters and I also think we can/are better than them but Duke will most likely be very good this year. The quicker some of our fans accept that the better.
Click to expand...
This.

I get the sense that a lot of our fans are trying anything and everything to convince themselves that Duke isn’t going to be very good. I will bet every single on of them $1000 that Duke will win at least 30 games and at least get to the Elite Eight. I bet I won’t get a single person to take me up on my offer.

That being said, I like our roster better, at least as of now,
 
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Yeah, I typed, erased, retyped, too many directions to go with that statement. IlI' just let it breathe.
 
521cat said:
If its 30 pre tournament I'd say he'd get some takers. I'd likely sign up for that.
Click to expand...
Final season win total.

The problem if someone takes me up on my offer, is I would actually have to root for those losers to get to 30 wins and get to the Elite Eight. I would still root against them every game. Conflict of interest?
 
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BlueDevilWildcat said:
I could be wrong but I don't believe Duke went after Reid at all, not sure where you read that.

You may have Zion wrong. I think he's a happy-go-lucky kid who will cause zero chemistry problems. Special kid, special talent.

The potential for chemistry problems is real IMO, but if it happens my guess is it's going to be with Cam and Barrett.

Duke may have 3 picks in the top 10 of next year's draft. That amount of talent helps offset somewhat the lack of depth. Might combust, could be pretty special.

UK looks to have a really high floor this year, with so much quality depth and pieces that seem to fit well together. Props to Cal for putting this team together.
Click to expand...

there is no such thing as a bluedevil wildcat, sorry...
 
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kev69 said:
Final season win total.

The problem if someone takes me up on my offer, is I would actually have to root for those losers to get to 30 wins and get to the Elite Eight. I would still root against them every game. Conflict of interest?
Click to expand...
I'd say reevaluate when conference play starts. They could for sure lose 10. But it depends on the free reign Zion gets from the refs.
 
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Mr_GG said:
I think RJ and Zion are studs. I think Reddish is nowhere near their level despite what his ranking suggest, and I think Jones is very overrated. Bolden still sucks, and they have no bench. I'm not ready to say "Duke will be very good". I feel like they will have chemistry issues, this is a very unusual Coach K Roster, and they didn't exactly tear it up vs a much worse opponent tonight than the ones we played in the Bahamas.
Click to expand...
You must not have ever watched them play. Reddish is the best ALL AROUND player on the team, and he was in high school as well
 
I haven't seen any of them play, but I think unless they define roles they will struggle. You can only play all three together at short times in a game.
 
20102015 said:
They should’ve taken the center OR the pf. Two bigs on the floor together is death.
Click to expand...
Your scapegoating of Bagley and Carter is bizarre. Those two were probably the best two players on the team and I’d probably take them over any two players on the Duke 2018-2019 roster. And there’s no question that anyone would take those two over the PF-C combo of Zion-Bolden you have this year. And if you play small I’d definitely take Bagley-Carter at PF-C over Barrett-Williamson or Reddish-Williamson.

In short, you are insane.
 
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FrankUnderwood said:
You said it though... they’re playing without 2 other VERY good players (freshman nonetheless)


I don’t think they’re going to be world beaters and I also think we can/are better than them but Duke will most likely be very good this year. The quicker some of our fans accept that the better.
Click to expand...

Oh, they will be good. No doubt about it. That is why we recruited all three of the freshmen. But, even though Cal offered all 3, I doubt that he thought he would get more than 2 at the very best, and probably didn't want all 3, since he stresses limited shots, sharing the ball, making your team mates better, etc. I will be interested in seeing how this works out for Duke, and if there is conflict if one of those 3 gets more shots and ink, than the other 2. I have never seen Duke players become close to each other, and it's just a hunch that these 3 care more about being the # 1 draft pick, than making each other better.
 
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This is unlike any Duke team K has coached. It's odd, actually. Almost like he wanted the top 3 players just to get them and wasn't concerned about balance at all.

1) Lack of experience? Check
2) Lack of depth? Check
3) Lack of shooting? Check
4) Poor free throw shooting? Check

This is why, even though they are crazy talented and were missing two players, I don't see them cutting down the nets.
 
mustnotsleepnow said:
This is unlike any Duke team K has coached. It's odd, actually. Almost like he wanted the top 3 players just to get them and wasn't concerned about balance at all.

1) Lack of experience? Check
2) Lack of depth? Check
3) Lack of shooting? Check
4) Poor free throw shooting? Check

This is why, even though they are crazy talented and were missing two players, I don't see them cutting down the nets.
Click to expand...

K never goes deep anyway. They have 7-8 guys which is all he would use anyway.

Really tough to draw anything when they were missing three of the seven guys K will play.

I do agree on the shooting though. Then getting any resemblance of a couple outside threats will determine their season.
 
Tyblue22 said:
My opinion. Yes, they were missing Reddish and Jones so take that into consideration. I knew they were going to be freshman heavy, but man, Are they freshman heavy. I see 2 stars in Barrett and Williamson, but I honestly am shocked at how little they have outside those 2. If they get into foul trouble, fatigue, or injury Duke goes from top 3 team to top 25 team real quick. Those 2 are top 5 picks in the draft and are amazing players. I think Reddish fits that mold too, but wow are they bad after those guys. I dont see anything else after those guys. No depth, I mean, no depth after 4 players total. What happens late in the second half trying to play 5 guys? Or foul trouble.

Williamson is an athletic freak. Wow can he jump. But, I saw alot of high school in him. Standing around after a dunk smiling at the crowd, etc. And late in the half, and game he was gassed man. Bent over, hands on knees, gasping. Why dont they put him on a diet, get him to 250. If he is jumoing that far at 285, he would leave the earth at 250....lol
(wow can he jump)
Click to expand...
Duke doesn’t have to worry about foul trouble or depth. They won’t get enough calls against them for it to be an issue.
 
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Tyblue22 said:
My opinion. Yes, they were missing Reddish and Jones so take that into consideration. I knew they were going to be freshman heavy, but man, Are they freshman heavy. I see 2 stars in Barrett and Williamson, but I honestly am shocked at how little they have outside those 2. If they get into foul trouble, fatigue, or injury Duke goes from top 3 team to top 25 team real quick. Those 2 are top 5 picks in the draft and are amazing players. I think Reddish fits that mold too, but wow are they bad after those guys. I dont see anything else after those guys. No depth, I mean, no depth after 4 players total. What happens late in the second half trying to play 5 guys? Or foul trouble.

Williamson is an athletic freak. Wow can he jump. But, I saw alot of high school in him. Standing around after a dunk smiling at the crowd, etc. And late in the half, and game he was gassed man. Bent over, hands on knees, gasping. Why dont they put him on a diet, get him to 250. If he is jumoing that far at 285, he would leave the earth at 250....lol
(wow can he jump)
Click to expand...

This part will only happen to the team their playing against.
 
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